COVID-19 has killed two more New Brunswickers, hospitalized two children and sent a growing number of people to intensive care, while flu cases and hospitalizations continue to climb, data released by the province Tuesday shows.
Seven of them required intensive care, up from three.
Among those admitted to hospital are a child under four, a child aged five to 19, an adult aged 20 to 44, five aged 45 to 64 and 43 aged 65 or older.
COVID-19 activity remains moderate; most indicators remained stable throughout the current reporting period.– Respiratory Watch report
Thirteen lab-confirmed outbreaks were reported, including three in nursing homes and 10 in “other” facilities, which could include adult residential homes or correctional centres. That’s down from 12.
There have been 138 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) lab tests, down from 153.
The positivity rate is 13 per cent, down from 15 per cent a week ago.
A total of 114,432 COVID-19 vaccines have been administered since Oct. 4. That’s up from 108,562.
“COVID-19 activity remains moderate; most indicators remained stable throughout the current reporting period,” the report says.
Search for Russell’s replacement ongoing
CBC requested an interview with a Public Health official, but received an emailed statement from Department of Health spokesperson Sean Hatchard instead.
“Public Health ensures staff are available to provide information to the media. That may include an interview or a statement, depending on the individual situation,” he said.
“At this time, the advice remains that New Brunswickers should take steps to assess their own personal situation, and to reduce their risks of transmission and infection of respiratory illnesses.
“Precautions include staying home when you’re feeling ill, covering your nose and mouth when coughing and sneezing, washing your hands regularly, and wearing a well-fitting mask when in crowded, public places,” he said.
Dr. Yves Léger, the province’s acting deputy chief medical officer of health for nearly two years, is now serving as the acting chief medical officer of health, the Department of Health said. (Government of New Brunswick/Zoom)
A new chief medical officer of health has not yet been hired, said Hatchard. The recruitment process is ongoing, he said, and Dr. Yves Léger is acting in the position until a replacement for Dr. Jennifer Russell can be found.
She lost her bid for the presidency of the Canadian Medical Association last Friday. Members nominated Dr. Margot Burnell, medical oncologist and current chief of staff for Zone 2 of the Horizon Health Network as the president-elect.
Léger has served as the acting deputy chief medical officer of health since Dr. Cristin Muecke left in January 2022 to join Nova Scotia’s Department of Health as a regional medical officer of health.
The department won’t start recruiting to fill the deputy chief’s position until the chief’s position has been filled, Hatchard has said.
Eighty-three influenza A cases were lab-confirmed between Nov. 26 and Dec. 2 — nearly a 63 per cent jump from the 51 cases in the previous report.
These raise the total number of flu cases to 182 since the respiratory season began on Aug. 27.
Flu hospitalizations jumped nearly 88 per cent, week-over-week, to 15, from eight. Intensive care admissions dipped to two, from three.
The flu has sent 27 people to hospital since the respiratory season began on Aug. 27, six of whom required intensive care. (AHS)
Influenza-like illness outbreaks were reported at three schools, up from one a week ago. No information about the schools, the number of cases or whether it’s students or staff affected has been released.
School outbreaks are based on 10 per cent absenteeism in a school due to influenza-like illness symptoms, the report says.
A total of 175,622 people have been vaccinated against the flu since Oct. 4.
Several hospital unit COVID outbreaks
Horizon Health Network has 46 active COVID-19 hospitalizations, including six people in intensive care, as of Saturday, according to its weekly COVID dashboard. That’s down from 58 and five, respectively.
Fifty health-care workers are off the job after testing positive for COVID, up from 46.
And there are seven COVID outbreaks on hospital units, as of Tuesday. These include:
The Moncton Hospital — chronic care and oncology.
Saint John Regional Hospital — internal medicine and surgery.
Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital — coronary care unit.
Vitalité Health Network won’t be updating its COVID-19 report until the end of the month, but it has updated its COVID-19 outbreaks page. It has seven hospital unit outbreaks as of Tuesday, up from two a week ago.
Four of them are at the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre in Moncton, on the general surgical unit (4A), internal medicine and telemetry (4C), surgical unit —orthopedic, plastic, and ear, nose and throat (4E), and nephrology (4F).
Campbellton Regional Hospital has outbreaks on the medical unit and veterans’ unit, while Restigouche Hospital Centre has an outbreak on the continuous rehabilitation unit (C-1).
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
